The present invention relates to an operating device comprising a control lever and an operating console and being provided with at least two pivot axes around which the lever may alternatively be pivoted relative to the operating console, for adjustment between a number of operating positions, said operating positions of the control lever about said pivot axes being intended for transmission into a corresponding operating condition of a device to be operated.
In operating devices of a common type, such as gear selection controls for automotive vehicles, a gear selector lever included in the arrangement can be set to a multitude of different positions, each determining a certain operating state of the device, for example a vehicle transmission, to be operated. Hereby, the operating position of the lever is transmitted to the device to be operated by means of a transmission member, e.g. in the form of a wire, a linkage, hydraulics, or electrical signals. For a certain type of operation it may be desirable that a first transmission member is not activated, but that the position of the control lever is transmitted by a second transmission member. In a conventional operating device, the first transmission member must then be disconnected when the other transmission member is connected, which results in a complicated mechanism.
The object of the present invention is to provide an operating device that, with only few moving parts, allows alternating activation of different transmission members.
Said object is achieved by means of an operating device according to the present invention, which is characterised in that said pivot axes are formed by four support members for the control lever in the operating console, in pairs defining each one of the pivot axes of the control lever; in that the support members are biased towards their respective paths in the operating device, in which paths the support members, alternately and in pairs, are blocked against a certain movement and operable in a certain movement, respectively, to allow control movement of the lever along a selected path of movement.